Gare Palma hazard identification and risk assessment review
Hindalco Industries Limited (HIL) acquired four coal blocks through a competitive bid process managed by the Government of India. Gare Palma IV/4 and Gare Palma IV/5 are two of the four blocks.
Both mines were in operation at the time of bidding. Gare Palma IV/4 is an opencast and underground operation (operated by a mining contractor), while Gare Palma IV/5 is an underground mine.
Management at the Gare Palma mines and SRK consultants carried out an exercise to identify the hazards in all stages of the mining process and undertook a risk assessment at both mines to reduce the potential for safety incidents. To enhance Operational Health and Safety (OHS) standards, Hindalco retained SRK to undertake a risk assessment associated with the existing OHS practices for the mines. The purpose was to identify the health and safety hazards associated with mining and associated activities as part of a risk assessment. SRK investigated whether HIL and the Gare Palma mines had appropriate governance tools in place by way of hazard identification registers and risk registers.
The risk assessment techniques applied followed internationally recognised good practice and were compliant with the ISO 31000 Risk Management guidelines. The hazard identification and risk assessment included the mine and infrastructure areas, process plant, workshops, access road and railway siding.
